City of Memphis Ready if Grizzlies Make it to the NBA Finals

(Memphis) After the big win against the Thunder Monday night, expectations of how far the Grizzlies can go in the playoffs are through the roof. Many are saying the NBA Finals.

“Memphis is the hot ticket in the NBA at the moment and lets keep it going,” said Kevin Kane, President of Memphis Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

With each win more and more basketball experts around the nation are naming the Memphis Grizzlies as title contenders.

The question is, would the bluff city be ready for the onslaught of fanfare and global media to hit our town first for the conference finals then the NBA finals.

“Whatever happens, if we are fortunate to keep winning and get to that point, we’ll be ready for whatever comes our way,” said Kane.

Memphis is a town for tourists with more than 4,000 hotels downtown alone. If those were to fill up, the Metro area has another 18,000 rooms.

“Obviously there will be thousands of people that come in for those games, the games played in Memphis, but we can certainly handle the infrastructure,” said Kane. “It’s a little bit different. Most of these seats are going to be sold to our fans.”

As for security, Kane believes there will be a heightened awareness from MPD, but not much more than a regular playoff game.

The Grizzlies are just five wins away from the dream of the NBA Finals becoming a reality. Kane says the city is ready and waiting. For now, it’s one game at a time.

“These playoffs are tough,” said Kane. “These teams are fighting for their life and it’s going to be very difficult tomorrow night obviously in Oklahoma City because it’s an elimination game and their at home and they’ll throw the kitchen sink at us.”

The only other championships held in Memphis was in 2009 when the Memphis Redbird came out on top of its league.